Elastic girdle



vFeb- 6 H. c. J. M. DIOGENE 2,736,029

ELASTIC GIRDLE meg Feb. 13. 1955 111 11.11111 11 1 11 1 fif' 14 17 77, I? 1/ J 17 g 17 c 7 C 11 1 111. 1 15 INVENTOR. HFMQ/ CLAUDE tIA/v MAR/E D/06ENE,

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United States PatentO ELASTIC GIRDLE Henri Claude Jean Marie Diogene, Perpignan, France, assignor to Hollywood-Maxwell Company, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application February 13, 1953, Serial No. 336,825

3 Claims. (Cl. 2-37) This invention relates to foundation garments, and particularly to elastic girdles.

One of the fundamental objections to the usual form of elastic girdles is the difiiculty entailed in proper place ment on the body of the user. As a corollary, the elastic elements are subject to considerable strain, and may well rupture or acquire a permanent stretch after continued use, rendering the garment ineffective to accomplish its intended function. It ceases to envelope closely the lower pelvis region or thigh portion.

It is the primary object of this invention to obviate these diflicuities.

It is another object of this invention to provide a girdle that is capable of prolonged wear, and that is comfortable and easy to put on and take off.

For this purpose, use is made of elastic pleats in a particularly novel manner, whereby these pleats are operative at the maximum girth of the garment, but to an extent less than at the upper portion of the garment, thereby achieving proper tightness of fit at the thigh region.

This invention possesses many other advantages, and has other objects which may be made more clearly apparent from a consideration of several embodiments of the invention. For this purpose, there are shown a few forms in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification. These forms will now be described in detail, illustrating the general principles of the invention; but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of a girdle incorporating the present invention, in place upon the body of a wearer;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken along the plane indicated by line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but illustrating the pleats in unstressed condition;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of another embodiment of this invention; and

Fig. 5 is a side view of the garment shown in Fig. 4.

in the form illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, the girdle is generally of usual configuration. The main body portion 11 of the garment is made of customary elastic fabric, composed, for instance, of elastic threads covered with suitable textile or plastic material.

Top and bottom bands 12 and 13 of inelastic but expansibly knitted fabric are secured to the upper and lower edges 14 and 15 of the main body portion 11, appropriately finishing the garment. Customary garters 16 may be secured to the lower band 13.

The main body portion 11 has a plurality of longitudinally extending, peripherally spaced raised pleats 17. These pleats permit peripheral expansion of the garment, but since they are formed integrally with the garment, they resiliently oppose such expansion. The pleats at 2,736,029 Patented Feb. 28, 1956 the central portion of the garment extend less than half the distance thereof from the top edge 14. Successive adjacent pleats extend greater and greater distances longitudinally of the garment from the top edge 14, the pleats at the sides of the garment 10 extending substantially the entire distance a-c between the top and bottom edges 14 and 15. The lower ends of these pleats fall along the symmetrical lines d-e and e--f, the apex of these lines meeting at point e. Accordingly, for successive levels beneath the lowermost terminus 18 of the central pleats, a diminishing amount of peripheral expansion is permitted. Maximum expansion is thus permitted in the upper part of the garment, the entire periphery of which is pleated, and the permitted expansion progressively decreases below the point 2, since, for successive levels below this point, the number of operative expansible pleats is reduced.

The expansible characteristics of the pleats is availed of in the process of placing the garment on the body of the user; no undue strain is placed upon the elements of the elastic fabric, there being expansible pleats, although not uniformly, throughout the entire length of the central portion 11. The lower portions of the garment are subject to the least strain in donning the garment; accordingly, only a relatively few pleats are provided therein. These pleats do not detract from the intended confining function of the garment.

The rear portion of the girdle 10 may be identical with the front portion illustrated, the effect of the pleats in the rear portion producing a cumulative effect together with those in the front portion. Optionally, the rear section may be devoid of pleats, as desired.

In the form illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the main body portion 20 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending, peripherally spaced raised pleats 21. Top and bottom bands 22 and 23 are also provided and secured at the top and bottom edges 24 and 25 of the main body portion.

In the present instance, however, the garment has a crotch portion 26 extending across the garment and attached suitably to the center portion 27 of the lower band 23. This crotch portion may be in the form of an elastic band, made of material that is not as thick as that used for the main body of the garment.

The pleats 21 extend for increasing lengths from the top edge 24 of the main body portion 20. However, in the present instance, the pleats at the sides of the garment have the least longitudinal extent, and the pleats at the center of the garment extend substantially from top to bottom edges 24 and 25.

The central pleats 211), instead of terminating at the lower edge 25, diverge to extend substantially parallel to the edge 25. Accordingly, the lowermost portions of the inner pleats 21b permit expansion in a longitudinal direction and, upon proper proportioning of the garment, ensure that the crotch portion 26 properly fits the body of the wearer.

The form illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 also permits easy placement of the garment on the body of the wearer, avoiding rupture of the threads of the fabric, but yet providing the support intended.

In place of the pleats, successive decreasing expansibility could be provided by providing increasing lengths of expansibly woven portions.

The threads from which the body of the garment is made may be formed to provide inherently elastic properties, such as by forming the stitches in a gathered fashion instead of straight. Such material is described, for example, in a patent issued in France, No. 939,861, delivered May 30, 1951, and published on September 14, 1951. That patent discloses gathered or tucked-up 3 stitches of a thread which itself may be elastic. By this arrangement, elasticity in all directions is secured. The material may be knitted or woven in this fashion on either a rectilinear or circular loom, in a well-known manner.

The inventor claims:

1. A girdle for molding the human figure, adapted to extend across the lower torso of the wearer and having hip and upper thigh covering portions, said girdle having peripherally spaced pleats formed to permit elastic peripheral expansion and contraction for donning and removing the girdle, each pleat extending longitudinally of the girdle, the lower ends of the pleats being at graduated levels above the bottom edge of the girdle, the upper ends of the pleats being located adjacent the upper edge of the girdle.

2. A girdle for molding the human figure, adapted to extend across the lower torso of the wearer and having hip and upper thigh covering portions, said girdle having peripherally spaced pleats formed to permit elastic peripheral expansion and contraction for donning and removing the girdle, each pleat extending longitudinally of the girdle, the pleats being substantially uniformly spaced about the girdle, the lower ends of successive pleats from the center to the sides of the girdle being at successively different distances from the lower edge of the girdle, the upper ends of the pleats being located adjacent the upper edge of the girdle.

3. A continuously tubular girdle made of elastic material for molding the human figure, adapted to extend across the lower torso of the wearer and having hip and upper thigh covering portions, said girdle having a plurality of peripherally spaced box pleats extending longitudinally of the girdle, the pleats being formed of material to permit elastic peripheral expansion and contraction for donning and removing'the girdle, the pleats being substantially uniformly spaced from each other, the upper ends of the pleats being located adjacent the upper edge of the girdle, the lower ends of the pleats being at different levels above the lower edge of the girdle to provide gradually increasing elastic expansibility of the girdle from the lower portion to the upper portion of the girdle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS D. 14,431 OHara Nov. 20, 1883. 1,568,909 Newman Jan. 5, 1926 2,290,485 Sutter July 21, 1942 2,555,974 Kattermann June 5, 1951 2,599,168 Feldman June 3, 1952 2,603,787 Leventhal July 22, 1952 2,633,574 Dolan Apr. 7, 1953 

